How to Take a Screenshot on Snapchat
By Micah McDunnigan
The idea behind Snapchat is to let users send each other fleeting pictures that delete themselves after a few seconds. As appealing as the idea of sending something temporary in a digital world where everything lasts forever may be, you can still capture and store Snapchat snaps with screenshots. Once a snap expires it's gone. However, if you use your smartphone's standard screenshot function before the snap's countdown finishes, the image can live on in your device's gallery.
Android
Step 1
Go to your Snapchat inbox.
Step 2
Press and hold the Snapchat snap you want to view.
Step 3
Press and hold the power button and the volume down button at the same time before the countdown finishes and the snap expires to take a screenshot.
iOS
Step 1
Go to your Snapchat inbox.
Step 2
Press and hold the Snapchat snap you want to view.
Step 3
Press and release the sleep/wake button and the home button simultaneously before the countdown finishes and the snap expires to take the screenshot.
References
- Venture Beat: Yikes - This New App Saves Snapchats Without Letting The Sender Know
- Digital Trends: How to Take a Screenshot on a Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy S4, S3, or Other Android Device
- LA Times: Snapchat Screenshot Alerts Disabled By Change in iOS 7
- Apple Support: iPhone User Guide - For iOS 7 Software
Tips
- Remember that you have to continue holding your finger on your device's screen to keep the snap on your screen for the screenshot.
- Press the necessary buttons as quickly as you can to keep the image from expiring before you can finish the screenshot.
Warnings
- By default, the user who sent you the snap will be notified when you take a screenshot. However, there are a number of apps like Snap Save for iOS, or SnapCapture and SnapKeep for Android, that copy and save unopened snap images out of the Snapchat app. These copy image files, rather than take screenshots, so the sender isn't notified that you have a permanent version of the snap.
Writer Bio
Micah McDunnigan has been writing on politics and technology since 2007. He has written technology pieces and political op-eds for a variety of student organizations and blogs. McDunnigan earned a Bachelor of Arts in international relations from the University of California, Davis.